The Fashion Girl’s Guide To Today: April 7, 2011

It may only be Thursday, but I’m giving you my official permission to begin your hourly countdown to Friday. Let’s just call it giving yourself something to look forward to. But before you begin plotting what kind of trouble you plan on getting into this weekend, here’s a little news to get your day started.

At age 40, actress Tina Fey announced yesterday that she is five months pregnant with her second child. It must be baby fever on the 30 Rock set Fey’s costarJane Krakowski is also an expectant mother to be. (CBS News)

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake shook a wide area of southern and central Mexico this morning, but there were no initial reports of damage. The quake hit the Vera Cruz region, which is 379 miles from Mexico City, at 6:11 AM. (LA Times)

A gunman opened fire Thursday in a public elementary school in Rio de Janeiro, killing at least 12 people, himself, and leaving 22 other people in serious condition. According to officials, the gunman was a 23-year-old former student at the elementary school. (MSNBC)

The budget stalemate between Congress and President Obama continues. If an agreement isn’t reached by the end of Friday, there will be a government shutdown. If they don’t reach a deal, the government will shift to performing only “essential operations,” meaning more than 1 million essential employees will be asked to come to work and not be paid. (CNN)

A new quake has hit the norther coast of Japan. A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Japan on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological agency said. There is also a tsunami advisory for Iwate Prefecture the tsunami is expected to arrive in coastal regions there as well. (CNN)

U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an almost three-year high, opening today at 12,426,45. (SeeNews)